Acts 16:23-25

It’s midnight and Paul and Silas’ backs are beaten and bloody, their feet secured in stocks, their legs cramping, and they’re in the deepest, darkest hole in the prison, unsure of what tomorrow might bring. It’s a pretty bleak situation. So, what do they do? They pray and sing praises, hymns to God. Now the praying I understand, I would be praying like I never prayed before and though we aren’t told what they prayed, we do know it wasn’t a prayer of desperation and hopelessness. “God where are you? Why me? I thought you loved me?” It’s not even a prayer for deliverance because the opportunity will come to escape, but they stay.

I would venture to say that it was a prayer to God of thanksgiving. Paul would later write to these saints in Philippi, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7). They were able to pray, sing, and praise the Lord with thanksgiving because they knew they were in the will of God. They knew God’s promises to never leave them and they had one desire which was to serve their King with joy wherever He took them.

Pastor Doug Hardin

John 12:25

Did Jesus just say that we should walk around like a Debbie Downer and hate everything? The moral is not that we become hateful people, rather Jesus is warning us that our love for the things of this world should not exceed our love towards Him. You may never say the words “I love this more than I love God,” but your actions and how close you hold onto the things of this world may tell a different story. Many people will say they love the Lord, but they hold onto areas of their lives and will not let the Lord touch those things. It could be your house, a pet or a loved one.

Are there things you are struggling to entrust to the Lord? If God took those things away from you today, would your love towards Him fade? The rich young ruler loved God and was willing to follow all His ways, until he was told to sell everything that he had. His love for the things of this world kept him from following God. Instead, we should follow the example of Job. He lost everything but his wife, yet he still praised the Lord! Job’s love towards God exceeded everything he had, does yours?

For the King,

Pastor Daniel Batistelli

Ephesians 2:13

With how divided the world is on a variety of issues, it brings an unfortunate and inevitable conflict between people and their ideologies. We argue with people until we are blue in the face about the morality of certain things and are left wondering, “How can they think that way?!” We tend to forget that before Christ, we were once far off in sin with a mind that is under bondage to the world and its ideologies.

But you have been brought near by the blood of Christ and are now His with a renewed mind in Jesus! Next time the flesh rears its ugly head, remember the world needs to be brought near to God by the blood of Christ so they not only have redemption, but also a renewed mind in Jesus Christ. Share His wonderful love today and see how He can transform the world as people surrender to Him.

Resting in Him,

Pastor Sean Boehm

John 15:5

Did you ever play “king of the hill” as a kid? We had a big dirt mound in the field at the end of our street and we used to get so dirty and scratched up seeing whom we could push off that mound to be the only one on top. The Christian life couldn’t be further from that kid’s game. It’s not about our sufficiency or our insufficiency but rather our complete and utter dependency on Christ.

Remember the branch bears the cluster not produces it. Jesus could bear fruit of His own, but He chooses to pour into and work through a branch (us). So we’re off the hook for the fruit, we just need to abide in the vine. Otherwise we’ll be spinning our wheels doing a lot of “nothing.” Yet, what a great promise of assurance, as we abide in Him, He promises to abide in us and that’s how we get things done.

Branching out,

Pastor Gerard Deleeuw

Acts 12:14

In Acts 12, Herod goes after the church, killing the apostle James and tossing Peter into prison. While he’s locked up, a prayer group starts at the house of Mary, beseeching the Lord to free Peter. The Lord does exactly that, allowing Peter to miraculously escape from prison and he goes to Mary’s house to show himself. A girl named Rhoda answers the door and is shocked to see Peter standing there, so shocked she forgets to let him in!

There are people that believe God doesn’t answer our prayers unless we have complete faith He’s going to do so. Yet look at this story here. The group prays for Peter’s freedom and yet when he’s free, they’re surprised. It doesn’t sound like they prayed with much faith.

The truth is God’s will is going to be done whether we have incredible faith, a little faith, or no faith. I’m always surprised when God answers my prayers, but not because of a lack of faith, but because the Lord continues to surprise me with how good He is and how much He cares about me. Just like He told Jeremiah, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things” (Jeremiah 33:3).

Show me Your power, Lord!

Pastor Ron Kitchell

Luke 10:2-3

During His earthly ministry, Jesus spent much time preparing the hearts and lives of His disciples to carry on His work. Several times He addressed the need for them to see the world around them as filled with hearts and lives ready to hear the Good News of Christ.

Here He adds that the work of sharing our faith and the Gospel of our Lord will be carried out on difficult surroundings and circumstances. We will be like lambs among the wolves. Yet He will enable us wherever He sends us, so be encouraged and shared God’s love with someone today!

Good to be a sheep in God’s kingdom!

Pastor Jack Abeelen

Romans 6:8

I once heard a story about a missionary who left Liverpool, England to go to Africa. When he arrived, there was an outbreak of disease in the area where he was supposed to go. Thousands had died and he devoted his time to helping the sick and sharing Christ with those on their deathbeds.

One day, a slave trader came up to him and said, “Sir, if you stay here, you’ll die.” So that missionary nodded his head and said, “Friend, I died before I left Liverpool. That’s why I’m here.”

In Christ, we are dead to sin and alive to God. The moment we trust in Him, our old self dies and we begin to experience new life. It’s an amazing exchange. Yet many Christians still live as if their old self never died. How tragic!

Instead of living in light of sin and shame, remember the freedom and forgiveness that was given to you the moment you believed in Christ. Stop looking back and recognize the blessing of new life you have today. Don’t expect to lose. Expect to live victoriously in Christ!

Pastor William Del Casale

2 Corinthians 9:6

In the context of chapter 9, Paul writes this verse to describe the impact of Christian giving, and he likens it to farming. Bringing it closer to home, we could say that our backyard garden bounty is directly proportional to the amount of seeds or seedlings that we plant. The Corinthians are planning to make a large gift to the Macedonians, and Paul has been boasting of their intentions and expects that the Corinthians are sowing bountifully.

The thought behind this verse has a broader application to our Christian walk. God wants to work in us and through us. If we desire to see His fruit in our lives, we must put in the effort, for if we slack off in our work, then only a small amount of fruit will be produced, but if we work hard, then much fruit will be borne out through our lives. As the saying goes, “you get out of it what you put into it.” God, grant us the desire to put the shoulder to the plow, and in so doing may we lead bountiful lives that produce much fruit in your kingdom.

Jeff Mericle

Proverbs 3:1-2

Solomon starts this proverb by reminding his son to not forget the law and keep his commandments.

I must have said that to my kids hundreds of times when they were young, “Don’t forget!” “Don’t forget to take your lunch….don’t forget to look both ways before you cross the street…..don’t forget to do your homework.” Don’t forget!

But now I am the one who forgets. Have you ever been asked for your phone number or maybe you needed to fill out a form and put your social security number down and you had to think about it? Not good! You have to remind yourself of what should be obvious to you.

Well, that is true with the Law of God too, we need to be reminded. Which is why we should have quiet time with the Lord each and every day so we won’t forget.

“Don’t forget the law,” Solomon says. Keep the commandment in your heart and it will grant to you length of days, long life, and peace.

Walking in His peace,

Rich Kikuchi

While living in America awards us many freedoms, those freedoms can be taken for granted. Israel wasn’t too different back in its prime. God had awarded Israel with many liberties, the land, and the law to be fruitful and protected as a nation. But as time went on and these freedoms began to be taken advantage of, its citizens began thinking they knew better, that their way of life was better than God’s way.

On a micro level, all of us as individuals have a tendency to fall into dangerous patterns of wrong thinking. We start making decisions without considering God, whether they be financial, relational, or spiritual. You name it, you started charting your own course, playing by your own rules.

May I encourage you to examine yourself and examine yourself often. By examine yourself, I mean put your thoughts, plans, and ideas before the Lord and His Word. See if they line up, see if they are of the Lord or of your own devise. The Lord’s warning to Israel and to all that go after them in thinking they know better, is… Woe! Woe means that trouble and distress are coming your way if you continue down this path.

There is only one way and that’s God’s way.

Pastor Jason Witt